He stated he had offers to play second base, but as spring training came, he made playing-time sacrifices for two teams, including the Phillies. Merrifield said he liked Philly because he wanted to be close to his North Carolina home, with his first child expected in a few weeks, and because he wanted to play on a World Series contender in a pleasant environment.

“It just looks crazy,” Merrifield said Monday afternoon following the Phillies’ first full-squad exercise at BayCare Ballpark. “[Arizona first baseman] Christian Walker is a good buddy of mine. I saw him a couple weeks ago, before Philly was ever on the radar. The first thing I asked him was, ‘What was it like playing at the Bank?’ Of course, he says, ‘What you envisioned, times five.'”

Merrifield, 35, signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Phillies, which includes a club option for 2025. He is a three-time All-Star who twice led the Majors in hits and three times led the American League in stolen bases. But he joins the Phillies as a terrific utility guy.

He will play left field, second base, and anywhere else he is needed. He will give the Phillies protection in the outfield if center fielder Johan Rojas falls. Merrifield will give manager Rob Thomson lineup versatility if he wants to give second baseman Bryson Stott or left fielder Brandon Marsh a break against a difficult left-handed starter.

“It’ll be a little different,” Merrifield added. “But at the same time, I’ve spent my whole career as a ninth-rounder, a non-prospect, spending years in the Minor Leagues, finally getting a chance to play in the big leagues. I’ve spent a lot of my career trying to do things to prove myself and to prove that I can play at this level. And at this point, I feel like I’ve established that I’m here and I can play. I want to win now. And so I’m here to do whatever I need to do to win.”

The Phillies have been silent since November, when they re-signed Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract. They signed left-hander Kolby Allard to a $1 million agreement in January. They signed Spencer Turnbull to a $2 million deal last week. Both Allard and Turnbull might open the season in Triple-A.

But almost everybody anticipated the Phillies signing somebody else before Opening Day. There was conjecture that they could be a “sleeper” for Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, or Jordan Montgomery. The Phils wanted a right-handed-hitting outfielder on a one-year deal, but for weeks they maintained nobody wanted to sign with them because they could not promise guaranteed playing time.

They expected their demands to diminish once spring training commenced. They did. But before the Phillies signed Merrifield, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski instructed Thomson to call Merrifield.

“To make sure he would describe the role, which would not be an everyday role,” Dombrowski said. “And Whit told Rob Thomson that he would be happy to accept the role. He understood what the playing time was.”

Thomson appreciated Merrifield’s response: “But I’m going to play well enough to get more at-bats.”

Merrifield slashed.291/.337/.434 with a.771 OPS and a 106 OPS+ in his first six seasons with the Royals (2016–21). He slashed.262/.308/.379 with a.687 OPS and a 92 OPS+ over the last two with Kansas City and Toronto.

The Phillies think Merrifield’s production would benefit from less playing time. Merrifield thinks a couple bad months distorted his results, along with some mechanical weaknesses and the pressures of reaching free agency for the first time.

Philadelphia’s roster is mostly finished. Dombrowski said 12 of the 13 position players are set if everybody stays healthy and Rojas makes the club. Jake Cave and others figure to battle for the last bench job. Dombrowski indicated the rotation is set, with a couple bullpen roles available.

“You can always get better,” Dombrowski added. “There’s no perfect club. We like our club. We’ll be open-minded, but I can’t say that we’re actively looking.” Not after they got Merrifield. “I don’t think he’s scared, which is going to be great for us,” Bryce Harper said. What does Merrifield think Harper meant by that?

“I love the moment,” Merrifield added. “I’ve got this deep-rooted self-confidence that is just… I think it’s the reason I’m 35 years old [and still] playing, because there are players that are far superior in talent than me, but I’ve had this confidence in myself from a young age. And it’s just that I desire that moment.”